Jockey Avery Whisman, who rode horseback in the Mid-Atlantic region after starting his career in 2018, died Wednesday at the age of 23 after what his family described as a “protracted illness.” “. He was at his parents’ home in Versailles, Kentucky at the time of his death. Whisman has not ridden a horse since receiving the mount on August 23 at the Presque Isle Downs.
Although Whisman was ill, his mother, Salli, described his passing as “a sudden, inevitable event”.
“He absolutely loves the sport,” says Salli Whisman. “He is an incredible knight. If you talk to anyone in the industry who’s worked with him, they’ll tell you he’s always been kind, gracious, polite, and always has an incredible smile on his face. When riding, he only thought about that horse and he brought all the skills he learned in his youth. He can tackle any horse. Everyone loved the way he sat quietly on horseback and how he could read what the horse needed.”
Coach Matthew Kintz said: “From the first time I met him, we were impressed. “We had a lot of success together last year. I was really expecting him to have a bright future. I’m so grateful that I was able to enjoy the time I had with him because he’s such a great guy.”
After learning of Whisman’s death, Hall of Famer Mike Smith took to Twitter to pay his respects to the young racer.
“RIP my little brother, you will always be so loved,” read his tweet.
Whisman met Smith when he moved to Southern California in the summer of 2018, where he went to prepare for his career. Smith covered Whisman and gave him the boots and saddle he used to win the GI Kentucky Derby in 2005 in a Giacomo (Holy Bull). The same saddle was given to Smith by Laffit Pincay Jr. when he retired in 2003.
Salli Whisman said the whole family participated in the event and her son has been playing with horses since he was a toddler.
“I want a job where I can ride horses,” Avery Whisman told Laurel’s media relations in 2019. “I love riding, I love working with them in the morning, teaching them and Try to make them better and improve every single day. Just being around horses, that’s what I love. I want to find a career where I can do it for the rest of my life. Unfortunately in the world of events and shows, there really isn’t any currency in it. You can’t support yourself to do that, so when I started galloping and started making some money and starting to learn a little bit about the racing industry, I loved it. It makes the most sense.
Whisman premiered on December 18, 2018 at Turf Paradise. He will move to the Maryland circuit in 2019 and is also a winner at the Presque Isle and at the Colonial Downs.
His mother said: “He’s a bit of an adrenaline junkie. “He loves speed.”
Whisman has 90 career winners. His best year was in 2019 when he had 53 winners.
He is survived by his mother, his father Lyman, a former jockey, and sisters Caitlin Pinkney-Atkinson, Emma Whisman, and Clare McCabe. In lieu of flowers, the family requested a donation to the Jockeys Permanent Disability Foundation.
